TALLAHASSEE | Documents that are supposed to be key evidence cannot be used in a trial to determine whether state legislators broke the law when drawing new political maps, a Florida appeals court ruled Thursday.

The groups suing the Florida Legislature had obtained documents from a political consulting firm and wanted to use them to show that legislators drew up congressional districts in 2012 in a way that would help Republicans.

That would violate provisions in a voter-approved law that is being used for the first time to challenge redistricting.

Lawyers hired by the Republican Party of Florida to represent Data Targeting and consultant Pat Bainter argued that the documents are trade secrets and should remain confidential. Trial Judge Terry Lewis disagreed and ruled that they could be used in the redistricting trial that started this week.

But in a one-page ruling, the 1st District Court of Appeal overturned Lewis. The three judges, all appointed by Republican governors, said they would explain the decision later.

Mark Herron, a Tallahassee attorney representing a group of voters suing the Legislature, said it would take a day or two for the groups to “consider and assess all of our options.”

The ruling came on the fourth day of the landmark trial that marks the first time new standards adopted by voters in 2010 are being used to challenge how the Legislature drew up new congressional districts. If the court finds the current districts unconstitutional it could force legislators to redraw them.

The “Fair Districts” constitutional amendments say districts cannot be drawn in a way to favor incumbents or members of a political party.

The groups suing, which include the League of Women Voters and a cluster of media organizations including the Times-Union, contend that legislators used a “shadow” process to disguise what they were doing.

Evidence introduced so far has shown that one Republican consultant got maps from a top House aide before they were made public. Also, legislators in charge of the process met with GOP consultants in early 2011 to discuss redistricting. And the final deal on a new congressional map was reached behind closed doors.

The trial is also unique because Florida’s two legislative leaders were forced to testify this week in court.

House Speaker Will Weatherford and Senate President Don Gaetz testified this week that they did not communicate with consultants and did not draw maps to favor Republicans. Weatherford has noted that four GOP incumbent members of Congress have been defeated since the new maps were passed in 2012, two of them by Democrats.

At the center of the case is the push by the Senate to increase the number of black voters in a sprawling district that stretches from Jacksonville to Orlando but also bends westward into part of Gainesville. Attorneys challenging the maps in the lawsuit say it was done to put more Democratic voters in the district of U.S. Rep. Corinne Brown in order to help Republicans in adjacent districts.

The legislative leaders said it was done to give black voters a better chance to elect one of their own. Protecting minoritiy representation is another provision of the Fair Districts law.

DonGene, could you not read the post directly above yours? What is your response about Corrine (I deliver to my daughter) Brown? Explain to me how her district can run down 17 from Jacksonville to Orlando yet there are only a few homes actually on 17 and even those are not in her district?

That's why these lawmakers can confidently go up there and tell these ridiculous lies. They know the judges are on the take and will protect them by throwing out the evidence, that shows they are lying.

Of course not! They told the Republicans how to do it illegally and now the evidence can't be used because of a Republican appointed court. Democrats can't win in this state until the rise up and vote together to toss the nut case Republicans out of office and take back this state!! Problem being that there are too many so called Democrats that always vote Republican and haven't changed their registration.